History

1826 to 1836 (London University)

UCL was founded on 11 February 1826 under the name London University as a secular alternative to the religious universities of Oxford and Cambridge.[26][27] London University's first Warden was Leonard Horner, who was the first scientist to head a British university.[28]

Despite the commonly held belief that the philosopher Jeremy Bentham was the founder of UCL, his direct involvement was limited to the purchase of share No.633, at a cost of £100 paid in nine installments between December 1826 and January 1830. In 1828 he did nominate a friend to sit on the council, and in 1827 attempted to have his disciple John Bowring appointed as the first professor of English or History, but on both occasions his candidates were unsuccessful.[29] This suggests that while his ideas may have been influential, he himself was less so. However Bentham is today commonly regarded as the "spiritual father" of UCL, as his radical ideas on education and society were the inspiration to the institution's founders, particularly the Scotsmen James Mill (1773–1836) and Henry Brougham (1778–1868).[30]

In 1827, the Chair of Political Economy at London University was created, with John Ramsay McCulloch as the first incumbent, establishing one of the first departments of economics in England.[31] In 1828 the university became the first in England to offer English as a subject[32] and the teaching of Classics and medicine began. In 1830, London University founded the London University School, which would later become University College School. In 1833, the university appointed Alexander Maconochie, Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, as the first professor of geography in the UK. In 1834, University College Hospital opened as a teaching hospital for the university medical school.[33]

1836 to 2005

In 1836, London University was incorporated by Royal Charter under the name University College, London. On the same day, the University of London was created by royal charter as a degree-awarding examining board for students from affiliated schools and colleges, with University College and King's College, London being named in the charter as the first two affiliates.[34]

In 1878 the University of London gained a supplemental charter making it the first British university to be allowed to award degrees to women. The same year, UCL became the first college to admit women on equal terms to men in the faculties of Arts and Law and of Science, although women remained barred from the faculties of Engineering and of Medicine (with the exception of courses on public health and hygiene).[36][37] Women were finally admitted to medical studies during the First World War in 1917, although after the war ended limitations were placed on their numbers.[38]

In 1900 the University of London was reconstituted as a federal university with new statutes drawn up under the University of London Act 1898. UCL, along with a number of other colleges in London, became a school of the University of London. While most of the constituent institutions retained their autonomy, UCL was merged into the University in 1907 under the University College London (Transfer) Act 1905 and lost its legal independence.[41]

1900 also saw the decision to appoint a salaried head of the college. The first incumbent was Carey Foster, who served as Principal (as the post was originally titled) from 1900 to 1904. He was succeeded by Gregory Foster (no relation), and in 1906 the title was changed to Provost to avoid confusion with the Principal of the University of London. Gregory Foster remained in post until 1929.[42][43][44]

UCL sustained considerable bomb damage during the Second World War, including to the Great Hall and the Carey Foster Physics Laboratory. The first UCL student magazine, Pi Magazine, was published for the first time on 21 February 1946. The Institute of Jewish Studies relocated to UCL in 1959. The Mullard Space Science Laboratory was established in 1967.[46] In 1973, UCL became the first international link to the precursor of the internet, the ARPANET.[47][48]

Although UCL was the first university to admit women on the same terms as men, in 1878, the College's senior common room, the Housman Room, remained men-only until 1969. After two unsuccessful attempts a motion was passed that ended segregation by sex at UCL. This was achieved by Brian Woledge (Fielden Professor of French at UCL from 1939 to 1971) and David Colquhoun, at that time a young lecturer in Pharmacology.[49]

The Wilkins Building in 1956

A contemporary view of the same

In 1976, a new charter restored UCL's legal independence, although not the power to award its own degrees.[50][51] It was also under this charter that the College became formally known as University College London (thus abandoning the comma after "College", which had been in use since 1836).

Proposals for a merger between UCL and Imperial College London were announced in 2002.[59] The proposal provoked strong opposition from UCL teaching staff and students and the AUT union, which criticised "the indecent haste and lack of consultation", leading to its abandonment by the UCL Provost Sir Derek Roberts.[60] The blogs that helped to stop the merger, are preserved, though some of the links are now broken: see David Colquhoun's blog,[61] and the rather more stylish Save UCL blog,[62] which was run by David Conway, a postgraduate student in the department of Hebrew and Jewish studies.

Since 2003, when UCL Professor David Latchman became Master of the neighbouring Birkbeck, he has forged closer relations between these two University of London colleges, and personally maintains departments at both. Joint research centres include the UCL/Birkbeck Institute for Earth and Planetary Sciences, the UCL/Birkbeck/IoE Centre for Educational Neuroscience, the UCL/Birkbeck Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, and the Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging.

2005 to 2010

In 2005, UCL was finally granted its own taught and research degree awarding powers and all new UCL students registered from 2007/08 qualified with UCL degrees. Also in 2005, UCL adopted a new corporate branding, under which, among other things, the name University College London was replaced by the simple initialismUCL in all external communications.[65] In the same year a major new £422 million building was opened for University College Hospital on Euston Road,[66] the UCL Ear Institute was established and a new building for the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies was opened.

2010 to present

In June 2011, the mining company BHP Billiton agreed to donate A$10 million to UCL to fund the establishment of two energy institutes – the Energy Policy Institute, based in Adelaide, and the Institute for Sustainable Resources, based in London.[73] In November 2011 UCL announced plans for a £500 million investment in its main Bloomsbury campus over 10 years, and the establishment of a new 23-acre campus next to the Olympic Park in Stratford in the East End of London.[74] It revised its plans of expansion in East London and in December 2014 announced to build a campus UCL East covering 11 acres and provide up to 125,000m2 of space on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.[75] UCL East will be a part of the planned Olympicopolis that plans to transform the Olympic Park into a cultural and innovation hub where UCL will open its first school of design, a centre of experimental engineering and a museum of the future, along with a living space for students.[76]

The School of Pharmacy, University of London merged with UCL on 1 January 2012, becoming the UCL School of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Life Sciences.[77][78] In May 2012, UCL, Imperial College London and the semiconductor company Intel announced the establishment of the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities, a London-based institute for research into the future of cities.[79][80]

In August 2012 UCL received criticism for advertising an unpaid research position; it subsequently withdrew the advert.[81]

UCL and the Institute of Education formed a strategic alliance in October 2012, including co-operation in teaching, research and the development of the London schools system.[82] In February 2014 the two institutions announced their intention to merge[83][84] and the merger was completed in December 2014.[85][86]

In October 2013 it was announced that the Translation Studies Unit of Imperial College London would move to UCL, becoming part of the UCL School of European Languages, Culture and Society.[87] In December 2013, it was announced that UCL and the academic publishing company Elsevier will collaborate to establish the UCL Big Data Institute.[88] In January 2015 it was announced that UCL had been selected by the UK government to be one of the five founder members of the Alan Turing Institute (together with the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford and Warwick), an institute to be established at the British Library to promote the development and use of advanced mathematics, computer science, algorithms and Big Data.[89][90]

In 2015 UCL established a new School of Management focused on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, replacing its Department of Management Science and Innovation, with plans to move to new premises in One Canada Square, Canary Wharf in May 2016.[91][92]

Notable UCL buildings in Bloomsbury include the UCL Main Building, including the Octagon, Quad, Cloisters and the Wilkins building designed by William Wilkins; the Cruciform Building, Gower Street (a red, cross-shaped building previously home to University College Hospital); and the Rockefeller Building, University Street, home to the original University College Hospital Medical School and named after the American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller after support from the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1920s. Due to its position within London and the historical nature of its buildings, including most notably the UCL Main Building and Quad, UCL has been used as a location for a number of film and television productions, including Doctor in the House (1954), Gladiator (2000), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010).[94]

Organisation and administration

Governance

Although UCL is a constituent college of the federal University of London, in most ways it is comparable with free-standing, self-governing and independently funded universities, and it awards its own degrees.[97]

UCL's governing body is the Council, which oversees the management and administration of UCL and the conduct of its affairs, subject to the advice of the Academic Board on matters of academic policy, and approves UCL's long-term plans.[98] It delegates authority to the Provost, as chief executive, for the academic, corporate, financial, estate and human resources management of UCL. The Council normally meets six times each year. The Council comprises 20 members, of whom 11 are members external to UCL; seven are UCL academic staff of UCL, including the Provost, three UCL professors and three non-professorial staff; and two are UCL students. The Chair is appointed by Council for a term not normally exceeding five years. The Chair is ex officio Chair of the Honorary Degrees and Fellowships Committee, Nominations Committee and Remuneration and Strategy Committee.[98] The current Chair of the Council is Dame DeAnne Julius.

UCL's principal academic and administrative officer is the President and Provost, who is also UCL's designated principal officer for the purposes of the Financial Memorandum with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).[98] The Provost is appointed by Council after consultation with the Academic Board, is responsible to the Council, and works closely with its members, and especially with the Chair of Council. The current and tenth Provost and President of UCL is Michael Arthur, who replaced Sir Malcolm Grant in 2013.[99]

Vice-Provosts are appointed by the Provost, through the Council, to assist and advise the Provost as required. The Vice-Provosts are members of the Provost's Senior Management Team. There are presently six Vice-Provosts (for Education, Enterprise, Health, International, Research, and Operations).[98]

The Deans of UCL's faculties are appointed by Council and, together with the Vice-Provosts and the Director of Finance and Business Affairs, form the members of the Provost's Senior Management Team. The Deans' principal duties include advising the Provost and Vice-Provosts on academic strategy, staffing matters and resources for academic departments within their faculty; overseeing curricula and programme management at faculty level; liaising with Faculty Tutors on undergraduate admissions and student academic matters; overseeing examination matters at faculty level; and co-ordinating faculty views on matters relating to education and information support.[98]

Faculties and departments

Drayton House, which houses the Faculty of Economics

The UCL School of Pharmacy building

The Faculty of Engineering Sciences building

The Bedford Way building, home to the UCL Institute of Education and the Departments of Geography, Psychology and Language

UCL’s research and teaching is organised within a network of faculties and academic departments. Faculties and academic departments are formally established by the UCL Council, the governing body of UCL, on the advice of the Academic Board, which is UCL’s senior academic authority. UCL is currently organised into the following 11 constituent faculties:[100]

To facilitate greater interdisciplinary interaction in research and teaching UCL also has three strategic faculty groupings:

the UCL School of Life and Medical Sciences (comprising the Faculties of Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Population Health Sciences);

the UCL School of the Built Environment, Engineering and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (comprising the UCL Faculty of the Built Environment, UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences and UCL Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences); and

the UCL Faculty of Arts & Humanities, UCL Faculty of Laws, UCL Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences and the UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies.

Finances

In the financial year ended 31 July 2014, UCL had a total income (excluding share of joint ventures) of £1.02 billion (2012/13 – £928.15 million) and total expenditure of £1.01 billion (2012/13 – £908.3 million).[1] Key sources of income included £374.5 million from research grants and contracts (2012/13 – £325.65 million), £292.77 million from academic fees and support grants (2012/13 – £240.87 million), £182.44 million from Funding Council grants (2012/13 – £191.16 million) and £5.1 million from endowment and investment income (2012/13 – £5.33 million).[1] During the 2013/14 financial year UCL had a capital expenditure of £125.93 million (2012/13 – £95.43 million).[1] At year end UCL had endowments of £90.54 million (31 July 2013 – £85.95 million) and total net assets of £895.7 million (31 July 2013 – £816.94 million).[1][note 1]

In 2013/14, UCL had the third-highest total income of any British university (after the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford), and the second-highest income from research grants and contracts (after the University of Oxford).[102] For the 2015/16 academic year UCL has been allocated a total of £171.37 million for teaching and research from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the highest amount allocated to any English university, of which £39.76 million is for teaching and £131.61 millon is for research.[103] According to a survey published by the Sutton Trust, UCL had the eighth-largest endowment of any British university in 2012.[104]

UCL launched a 10-year, £300 million fundraising appeal in October 2004, at the time the largest target ever set by a university in the United Kingdom for such an appeal.[105]

Terms

The UCL academic year is divided into three terms.[106] For most departments except the Medical School, Term One runs from late September to mid December, Term Two from mid January to late March, and Term Three from late April to mid June.[106] Certain departments operate reading weeks in early November and mid February.[106]

Logo, arms and colours

Whereas most universities primarily use their logo on mundane documents but their coat of arms on official documents such as degree certificates, UCL exclusively uses its logo. The present logo was adopted as part of a rebranding exercise in August 2005.[65] Prior to that date, a different logo was used, in which the letters UCL were incorporated into a stylised representation of the Wilkins Building portico.

UCL formerly made some use of a coat of arms depicting a raised bent arm dressed in armour holding a green upturned open wreath.[107] A version of this badge (not on a shield) appears to have been used by UCL Union from shortly after its foundation in 1893.[108] However, the arms are not known to have ever been the subject of an official grant of arms, and indeed depart from several of the rules and conventions of heraldry. They are no longer formally used by the College, although they are still occasionally seen in unofficial contexts, or used in modified form by sports teams and societies. The blazon of the arms is: Purpure, on a wreath of the colours Argent and Blue Celeste, an arm in armour embowed Argent holding an upturned wreath of laurel Vert, beneath which two branches of laurel Or crossed at the nombril and bound with a bowed cord Or, beneath the nombril a motto of Blue Celeste upon which Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae. The motto is a quotation from Virgil's Aeneid, and translates into English as "Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward".[109]

UCL's traditional sporting and academic colours of purple and light blue are derived from the arms.

UCL old logo.jpg

Former UCL logo, in use until 2005

UCL "coat of arms"

Secularism

From its foundation the college was deliberately secular; the initial justification for this was that students of different Christian traditions (specifically Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants) could study alongside each other without conflict. Even today UCL retains its strict secular position and, unlike most other UK universities, has no specific religious prayer rooms. There has, however, been a Christian chaplaincy since 2005 and there is no restriction on religious groups among students. A "quiet contemplation room" allows prayer for staff and students of all faiths.

Memberships, affiliations and partnerships

UCL is a constituent college of the federal University of London, of which it was one of the two founding members in 1836 (the other being King's College London).[110]

UCL is a founding member of the Russell Group, an association of British research universities established in 1994,[111] and of the G5 lobbying group, which it established in early 2004 with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics.[112][113] UCL has been a member of the SES-5 engineering and physical sciences research alliance since May 2013, which it formed with the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Southampton and Imperial College London.[114] UCL is part of three of the 11 biomedical research centres established by the NHS in England and is a founding member of the Francis Crick Institute and the UCL Partnersacademic health science centre.[12]

UCL is regarded as forming part of the "golden triangle", an unofficial term for a set of leading universities located in the southern English cities of Cambridge, London and Oxford[118] including the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Imperial College London, King's College London and the London School of Economics.[119]

UCL is a founding member of Knowledge Quarter, a partnership of academic, cultural, research, scientific and media organisations based in the knowledge cluster in the Bloomsbury and King’s Cross area of London.[122] Other members of the partnership include the British Library, the British Museum, Google and the Wellcome Trust.[122]

Academics

Faculty and staff

As of April 2012, UCL had 5,277 academic and research staff.[101] UCL has the highest number of full professors of any university in the UK, with 648 established and personal chairs.[123] There are currently 53 Fellows of the Royal Society, 51 Fellows of the British Academy, 15 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and 117 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences amongst UCL academic and research staff.[124] There are currently approximately 3,000 PhD students working at UCL.

Research

UCL has made cross-disciplinary research a priority and orientates its research around four "Grand Challenges".[125] According to David Price, Pro-Provost for Research: "We believe we have a moral obligation to make a difference to global problems, and to combine the knowledge that our research generates to develop wisdom that can be applied in each of the four Grand Challenges: Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Intercultural Interaction and Human Wellbeing".[126]

In 2012/13, UCL had a total research income of £334.7 million, the second-highest of any British university (after the University of Oxford).[102] Key sources of research income in that year were OST research councils (£114.3 million), UK-based charities (£95.5 million), UK central government, local/health authorities and hospitals (£48.6 million), EU government bodies (£33.5 million), and UK industry, commerce and public corporations (£12.8 million).[1] In 2012/13, UCL was awarded a total of £135 million in grants from UK research councils, the largest amount of any British university, having made 478 applications and achieved a 33% success rate.[127]

According to a ranking of universities produced by SCImago Research Group, UCL is ranked 12th in the world (and 1st in Europe) in terms of total research output.[128] According to data released in July 2008 by ISI Web of Knowledge, UCL is the 13th most-cited university in the world (and most-cited in Europe). The analysis covered citations from 1 January 1998 to 30 April 2008, during which 46,166 UCL research papers attracted 803,566 citations. The report covered citations in 21 subject areas and the results revealed some of UCL's key strengths, including: Clinical Medicine (1st outside North America); Immunology (2nd in Europe); Neuroscience & Behaviour (1st outside North America and 2nd in the world); Pharmacology & Toxicology (1st outside North America and 4th in the world); Psychiatry & Psychology (2nd outside North America); and Social Sciences, General (1st outside North America).[129] According to a separate analysis by ISI Web of Knowledge, for the period January 2000 to August 2010 UCL was ranked 16th in the world (and 2nd in Europe) for citations per paper in engineering.[130]

UCL submitted a total of 2,566 staff across 36 units of assessment to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, in each case the highest number of any UK university (compared with 1,793 UCL staff submitted to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008)).[132][133] In the REF results 43% of UCL's submitted research was classified as 4* (world-leading), 39% as 3* (internationally excellent), 15% as 2* (recognised internationally) and 2% as 1* (recognised nationally), giving an overall GPA of 3.22 (RAE 2008: 4* – 27%, 3* – 39%, 2* – 27% and 1* – 6%).[133][134][135] In rankings produced by Times Higher Education based upon the REF results, UCL was ranked 1st overall for "research power" and joint 8th for GPA (compared to 4th and 7th respectively in equivalent rankings for the RAE 2008).[135]

Medicine

The Cruciform Building on Gower Street houses the preclinical facilities of the UCL Medical School

Admissions

Bentham House, the main building of the UCL Faculty of Laws

Admission to UCL is highly selective. For undergraduate entry many of UCL's courses require three A grades at A Level, or a grade equivalent of 6,6,6 on higher level subjects on the International Baccalaureate Program. Due to a very high proportion of applicants receiving the highest school grades, UCL,[141] along with institutions such as Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge[142] was one of the first universities in the UK to make use of the A* grade at A-Level (introduced in 2010) for admissions to courses including Economics, European Social and Political Studies, Law, Mathematics, Medicine, Theoretical Physics and Psychology.[143]

Foundation programmes

UCL runs intensive one-year foundation courses that lead to a variety of degree programmes at UCL and other top UK universities. Called the UCL University Preparatory Certificate, the courses are targeted at international students of high academic potential whose education systems in their own countries usually do not offer qualifications suitable for direct admission. There are two pathways – one in science and engineering called the UPCSE; and one in the humanities called UPCH. The same courses run at the Centre for Preparatory Studies at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. Students completing this course progress onto undergraduate programmes at Nazarbayev University.[155]

Libraries

The Donaldson Reading Room, part of UCL's Main Library

The UCL library system comprises 17 libraries located across several sites within the main UCL campus and across Bloomsbury, linked together by a central networking catalogue and request system called Explore.[156][157] The libraries contain a total of over 1.5 million books.[158] The largest library is the UCL Main Library, which is located in the UCL Main Building and contains collections relating to the arts and humanities, economics, history, law and public policy.[156] The second largest library is the UCL Science Library, which is located in the DMS Watson Building on Malet Place and contains collections relating to anthropology, engineering, geography, life sciences, management and the mathematical and physical sciences.[156] Other libraries include the UCL Bartlett Library (architecture and town planning), the Cruciform Library (general clinical and medical sciences), the UCL Eastman Dental Institute Library (oral health sciences), the UCL Institute of Archaeology Library (archaeology and egyptology), the UCL Institute of Education's Newsam Library (education and related areas of social science), the UCL Institute of Neurology Rockefeller Medical Library (neurosurgery and neuroscience), the Joint Moorfields Eye Hospital & the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology Library (biomedicine, medicine, nursing, ophthalmology and visual science), the UCL Language & Speech Science Library (audiology, communication disorders, linguistics & phonetics, special education, speech & language therapy and voice) and the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies Library (the economics, geography, history, languages, literature and politics of Eastern Europe).[156]

UCL staff and students have full access to the main libraries of the University of London—the Senate House Library and the libraries of the Institutes of the School of Advanced Study—which are located close to the main UCL campus in Bloomsbury.[159] These libraries contain over 3.7 million books and focus on the arts, humanities and social sciences.[158] The British Library, which contains around 14 million books, is also located close to the main UCL campus.

Since 2004, UCL Library Services has been collecting the scholarly work of UCL researchers to make it freely available on the internet via an open access repository known as UCL Eprints.[160][161] The intention is that material curated by UCL Eprints will remain accessible indefinitely.[160]

Museums and collections

UCL's Special Collections contains UCL's collection of historical or culturally significant works. It is one of the foremost university collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books in the UK.[162] It includes collections of medieval manuscripts and early printed books, as well as significant holdings of 18th-century works, and highly important 19th- and 20th-century collections of personal papers, archival material, and literature, covering a vast range of subject areas. Archives include the Latin American archives, the Jewish collections and the George Orwell Archive.[163] Collections are often displayed in a series of glass cabinets in the Cloisters of the UCL Main Building.[164]

UCL Art Museum: the art collections date from 1847 when a collection of sculpture models and drawings of the Neo-classical artist John Flaxman was presented to UCL. There are over 10,000 pieces dating from the 15th century onwards including drawings by Turner, etchings by Rembrandt, and works by many leading 20th century British artists. The works on paper are displayed in the Strang Print Room, which has limited regular opening times. The other works may be viewed by appointment.[168]

Flaxman Gallery: a series of plaster casts of full-size details of sculptures by the Neo-classical sculptor John Flaxman, is located inside the Main Library under the central dome of the UCL Main Building.[169]

Geology Collections: founded around 1855. Primarily a teaching resource and may be visited by appointment.[171]

Institute of Archaeology Collections: Items include prehistoric ceramics and stone artefacts from many parts of the world, the Petrie collection of Palestinian artefacts, and Classical Greek and Roman ceramics. Visits by appointment only.[172]

Ethnography Collections: This collection exemplifying Material Culture, holds an enormous variety of objects, textiles and artefacts from all over the world. Visits by appointment only.[173]

Galton Collection: The scientific instruments, papers and personal memorabilia of Sir Francis Galton. Housed in the department of biology. Visits by appointment only.[174]

Science Collections: Diverse collections primarily accumulated in the course of UCL's own work, including the operating table on which the first anaesthetic was administered. Items may be a viewed by appointment.[175]

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading universities. In the 2014/15 QS World University Rankings, UCL is ranked joint 5th in the world (and joint 3rd in Europe).[14] In the 2014/15 faculty rankings it is ranked 18th in the world (and 4th in Europe) for Arts and Humanities,[185] 52nd in the world (and 15th in Europe) for Engineering & Technology,[186] joint 10th in the world (and 5th in Europe) for Life Sciences and Medicine,[187] joint 57th in the world (and joint 17th in Europe) for Natural Sciences[188] and joint 40th in the world (and 11th in Europe) for Social Sciences & Management.[189]

In the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities, UCL is ranked joint 18th in the world (and 3rd in Europe).[190] In the subject tables it is ranked 8th in the world (and 2nd in Europe) for Clinical Medicine & Pharmacy,[191] joint 76th–100th in the world (and joint 13th in Europe) for Engineering, Technology and Computer Sciences,[192] 9th in the world (and 2nd in Europe) for Life & Agricultural Sciences,[193] joint 51st to 75th in the world (and joint 14th in Europe) for Natural Sciences and Mathematics[194] and joint 40th in the world (and 5th in Europe) for Social Sciences.[195]

In the 2015/16 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, UCL is ranked 14th in the world (and 5th in Europe).[16] In the subject tables it is ranked 8th in the world (and 3rd in Europe) for Arts and Humanities,[196] 8th in the world (and 4th in Europe) for Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health,[197] 53rd in the world (and 14th in Europe) for Engineering and Technology,[198] 17th in the world (and 5th in Europe) for Life Sciences,[199] 38th in the world (and 12th in Europe) for Physical Sciences[200] and 13th in the world (and 4th in Europe) for Social Sciences.[201] In the 2015 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, UCL is ranked 17th in the world (and 5th in Europe).[7]

In the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, UCL is ranked 21st in the world (and 4th in Europe).[202] In the subject tables it is ranked 19th in the world for Biology and Biochemistry, 85th in the world for Chemistry, 15th in the world for Clinical Medicine, 33rd in the world for Computer Science, 54th in the world for Economics and Business, joint 48th in the world for Geosciences, 25th in the world for Immunology, 90th in the world for Materials Science, joint 40th in the world for Microbiology, 23rd in the world for Molecular Biology and Genetics, 2nd in the world for Neuroscience and Behavior, 6th in the world for Pharmacology and Toxicology, 57th in the world for Physics, 10th in the world for Psychiatry/Psychology, 13th in the world for Social Sciences and Public Health and 33rd in the world for Space Science.[202]

UCL is ranked 6th in the world (and 3rd in Europe) in the 2014/15 University Ranking by Academic Performance produced by the Middle East Technical University.[11] UCL was ranked 20th in the world in the 2011 300 Best World Universities human competitiveness ranking produced by Human Resources & Labor Review.[203] In a ranking of universities' international reputations produced by The Guardian in 2009, UCL placed 3rd in the UK (behind Oxford and Cambridge).[204] In 2011, UCL was ranked 12th in the world (and 4th in Europe) in a survey of business leaders at top companies carried out by The New York Times.[205] In a separate survey of recruiters at major international companies conducted for The New York Times in 2012, UCL was ranked 16th in the world (and 8th in Europe).[206] UCL is ranked 14th in the world (and 4th in Europe) in the 2014 Global Employability University Survey, a ranking of graduate employability jointly produced by the French human resources consulting firm Emerging Associates and the German polling and research institute Trendence.[207] In a ranking of the universities most frequently searched for on Google published in September 2014, UCL ranked 12th in the world (and 3rd in Europe).[208][209]

UCL is consistently one of the top multi-faculty universities in UK university rankings and ranks joint 9th in the 2015 Times Higher Education Table of Tables of the UK's three main domestic university league tables.[210] UCL is ranked first in the UK for its staff/student ratio in The Times Good University Guide, The Sunday Times University Guide and The Guardian University Guide.[5] In the 2013 Guardian University Guide subject tables, UCL is ranked first in six subject areas (out of a total of 46): Archaeology and Forensics, Architecture, Art and Design, Civil Engineering, English, and Psychology.[211] In the 2016 Complete University Guide subject tables, UCL is ranked in the top 10 in 25 subjects, and is ranked first for Building; in the overall ranking UCL is 13th, down from 6th place in 2008.[212] UCL was chosen as the 8th best university in the UK for the quality of graduates according to recruiters from the UK's major companies.[213]

Student life

Performers at the 2014 UCL summer ball

Student body

In the 2013/14 academic year UCL had a total of 28,859 students, of whom 15,640 were undergraduate and 13,219 were postgraduate.[214] In that year 87% of UCL's students were full-time and 13% part-time,[214] and 54% were female and 46% male.[215]

In 2013/14, 12,330 UCL students were from outside the UK (43% of the total number of students in that year), of whom 5,504 were from Asia, 3,679 from the European Union ex. the United Kingdom, 1,195 from North America, 516 from the Middle East, 398 from Africa, 254 from Central and South America, and 166 from Australasia.[216]

UCL Union

Founded in 1893, the UCL Union is one of the oldest students' unions in England, although postdating the Liverpool Guild of Students which formed a student representative council in 1892.[50][217] UCL Union operates both as the representative voice for UCL students, and as a provider of a wide range of services. It is democratically controlled through General Meetings and referendums, and is run by elected student officers. The Union has provided a prominent platform for political campaigning of all kinds in recent years. It also supports a range of services, including numerous clubs and societies, sports facilities, an advice service, and a number of bars, cafes and shops.[218] The union is also responsible for the organisation of a number of events, including, amongst others, the college's annual summer ball.

There are currently over 150 clubs and societies under the umbrella of the UCL Union, including: Pi Media (responsible for Pi Magazine and Pi Newspaper, UCL's official student publications);[219] UCL Union Debating Society, UCL's oldest and the third oldest student society in the UK; UCL Union Film Society, one of the country's oldest film societies with past members including Christopher Nolan; University College London Dramatic Society; and The Cheese Grater (a student magazine containing a mix of news investigations and humorous items).[220]

Sport

UCL Union runs over 50 sports clubs, including UCL Cricket Club (Men's and Women's as well as Medical School clubs), UCL Boat Club (Men's and Women's clubs), UCL Cross Country and Athletics Club and UCL Rugby Club (Men's and Women's as well as Medical School clubs).[221]

UCL clubs compete in inter-university fixtures in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competition in a range of sports, including basketball, cricket, fencing, football, hockey, netball, rugby union and tennis. In the 2012/13 season, UCL finished in 38th position in the final BUCS rankings of 148 participating higher education institutions.[222]

UCL sports facilities include a fitness centre at the main UCL campus in Bloomsbury, a sports centre in Somers Town and a 90-acre athletics ground in Shenley.[223]

Mascot

UCL's mascot is the unnamed Warrior. The Warrior is representative of every UCL student athlete. He is derived from UCL's strong emphasis on strength and togetherness in sport. The Warrior can be seen on University College's coat of arms in the armoured arm holding up the wreath. He is also depicted in the two Roman nudes in front of the Portico; one statue holds a spear, while the other holds a discus, both considered to be among the most important skills of the traditional Greek warrior.

Importantly, the John Flaxman statue that is the centrepiece of the UCL Main Library is that of Saint Michael slaying Satan. Saint Michael is the patron saint of warriors, alongside Saint George, whose cross is seen on the coat of arms of the University of London, of which UCL is one of the two founding members, alongside fierce rivals Kings College London. Despite the statue of Saint Michael, he and the Warrior are not one and the same, owing strongly to UCL's strong secular background.

The Warrior has no name, which is fondly seen as a way to bequeath all of the student body equally with his spirit. No statue has been erected on campus to commemorate the Warrior, despite several pitches by the student body to do so. Perhaps one of the reasons that this has not been done is because the Warrior is an unofficial mascot, along with Phineas.

Rivalry with King's College London

UCL's Tom Brocket attacks in his team's 2014 Varsity victory. UCL's traditional rivalry with King's College is nowadays most noticeable at the annual varsity rugby game

UCL has a long-running, mostly friendly, rivalry with King's College London (King's), which has historically been known as "Rags".[224] UCL is often referred to by students from King's as the "Godless Scum of Gower Street", in reference to a comment made at the founding of King's, which was based on Christian principles. UCL students in turn refer to King's as "Strand Polytechnic".

The King's' mascot, Reggie the Lion, went missing in the 1990s and was recovered after being found dumped in a field. It was restored at the cost of around £15,000 and then placed on display in the students' union.[225] It is in a glass case and filled with concrete to prevent theft, particularly by UCL students who once castrated it. In turn, King's' students are also believed to have once stolen Phineas, a UCL mascot.[226] It is often claimed that King's' students played football with the embalmed head of Jeremy Bentham. Although the head was indeed stolen, the football story is a myth or legend which is unsupported by official UCL documentation about Bentham available next to his display case (his auto-icon) in the UCL cloisters. The head is now kept in the UCL vaults.[227]

Student campaigns

Student campaigns at UCL have included: UCLU Free Education Campaign (a campaign for the return of free and non-marketised higher education); the London Living wage Campaign (a campaign for a basic minimum wage for all UCL staff); Disarm UCL (a campaign which successfully persuaded UCL to not invest in defence companies); and Save UCL (this name has been used by two campaigns: one in 2006 which opposed a merger between UCL and Imperial College London in 2006, and a more recent one against education cuts).

Student housing

All first-year undergraduate students and overseas first-year postgraduates at UCL are guaranteed university accommodation.[230] The majority of second- and third-year undergraduate students and graduate students find their own accommodation in the private sector; graduate students may apply for accommodation but places are limited. UCL's student housing includes: Arthur Tattersall House (115–131 Gower Street); Astor College (99 Charlotte Street); Campbell House East and West (Taviton Street); Frances Gardner House and Langton Close (Gray's Inn Road); Goldsmid House (Gillingham Street); Ifor Evans & Max Rayne Student Residences (109 Camden Road); James Lighthill House (Pentonville Road); John Dodgson House (Bidborough Street); John Tovell House (89 & 93–7 Gower Street); Prankerd House (195 North Gower Street); Ramsay Hall and Ian Baker House Student Residences (Maple Street); and Schafer House Student Residence (Drummond Street). There is limited UCL accommodation available for married students and those with children at Bernard Johnson House, Hawkridge, Neil Sharp House and the University of London's Lilian Penson Hall.[231]

– business people including Lord Digby Jones (Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (2001–2006))[242] and Edwin Waterhouse (a founding partner of what is now the professional services firm PwC);

See also

Notes

↑Financial information does not include the Institute of Education, which merged with UCL in December 2014. In the year ended 31 July 2013 the IOE had a total income of £71.42 million and total expenditure of £69.97 million. The IOE had total net assets of £105.17 million at 31 July 2013.

↑"UCL top performing university in Horizon 2020". University College London. Retrieved 4 October 2015. UCL is the best performing university in the first year of the EU funding scheme Horizon 2020, securing a total of €73.2 million over 55 projects, according to an analysis by Research Professional.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

↑"Golden opportunities". Nature. 6 July 2005.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>: "No longer rivals, Oxford, Cambridge and London are now working towards a common goal — ensuring the 'golden triangle' becomes a global science hub."

"Oxbridge windfall". Times Higher Education. 4 August 1995.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>: "A large amount of the cash awarded to humanities postgraduates still goes to the "Golden Triangle" of Oxford, Cambridge and London, British Academy figures reveal."